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A boat travelling along a canal can push the water up a considerable distance ahead.
In 1962 we were moored on the ‘Shroppie’ on an absolutely flat calm night. At 4.00 am “Vesta” suddenly lifted and tugged at its moorings, waking us up. For a good ten minutes we lay listening to the strange thump of an approaching motor boat engine.
Eventually the headlamp of a heavily laden motor boat came swirling out of the fog carrying a full load of 3 ton aluminium ingots for Wolverhampton. Strapped to the stern was another laden motor boat acting as a push tug and towing on long lines two loaded butty boats.
This ghostly train, struggling on a criminally shallow canal, passed on its way trying to retain their business contract with the Star Aluminium Company.
We fell asleep grateful that we were only pleasure boaters, and now regretting we didn’t have a modern video camera to record the surreal scene. Max

Vesta at Stratford on Avon 1964.

1964 Celebrations for the opening of the Stratford Canal by volunteers. Max

August bank Holiday on the canal at Braunston 1964. The last large working boaters gathering before the canal trade died. We are passing through on ‘Vesta’. Max

Vesta pushes the Severn tide at Gloucester.